Hydraulic snow shovel



Feb 21, R9513 P. THOMAS HYDRAULIC snow SHOVEL 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed. Jan. 29, 1948 Inventor Peter Thomas Feb, 21 19% P; THOMAS II-XYDRAULIC sNow SHOVEL 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Filed Jan. 29, 1948' Inventor Peter Tilromas BJI-I I at M M Feb. 21, 1950 P. THOMAS 2,498,144

HYDRAULIC SNOW SHOVEL Filed Jan. 29, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 i 37 28 Inventor 58 Peter Thomas 54 40 3 By w W W 1,, 5 W Attorney:

P. THOMAS HYDRAULIC SNOW SHOVEL Feb. 21, 1950 Filed Jan. 29, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

@ fer Thamas l l l l Patented Feb. 21, 19 50 UN I TED .S TATES .A TLENT Q FF ICE 1 HYDRAULIC SNOW SHOVEL Peter Thomas, Augusta, Maine Application January 29, 1948, Serial No. 5,095

This invention relates to a hydraulic shovel and is especially adapted for use with shoveling snow and loading it on trucks.

An object of the -invention, therefore, is to provide a device that is capable of handling any kind ofsnow, dirt or loose gravel.

A further object of the invention is to provide hydraulic means capable of effecting the efficient operation of the device.

A still further object is to provide shock absorbing means to arrest the travel of the shovel, as well as return it to virtually vertical position when it has been emptied.

Another object of the invention is to provide latching means on said shovelto automatically return the shovel to operative position after corresponding parts are designated by the same r reference characters throughout the several views:

'Figure '1 is a side elevation of a truck illustrating the invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged View of the hydraulic means;

Figure 4 is a detail View partly in section, of the shovel latching means;

Figure 5 is a section taken on line 5-5 of Figure 1, and

Figure 6 is a top plan view of Figure 1 to show the shock absorbing means on the truck.

Figures 7 and 8 are enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional views of the automatic trip and differential means shown at the left top and bottom of Figure 1.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a truck is indicated generally at It and includes the usual body portion 12, cab section M, engine It, and sup porting frame l8. Transmission 25! connects by universal joint 22 to a dump pump (not shown) and by universal joint 24 to a drive shaft 28, which, in turn, connects to a shovel pump 28 by means of universal 30. Pump 28 is, in turn, con-= 4 Claims. (Cl. 214-78) nected to an hydraulic unit '32 which-includes a piston rod 34. Piston 34 is pivoted at 35 to a pair of links 36 connected at their upper ends at ":"l and at their lower ends to a pair of sideplates 38 by means of a transverse pin 40. Side plates 38 ar bolted "or otherwise suitably secured to the frame or the truck as shown at 42. (See Figure 5.) Pivoted to the upper endof links'36 are a pair of connecting-links M which, in turn, are pivotally connected by means of a'transverse pin to to a pair of parallel cranks 4.8 on a rotatable cross shaft 50. A transverse rod 52, connected at opposite extremities'to a pair of parallel beams 54, 56., suitably connected to truck frame 18, serves to support the hydraulic unit 32.

As best seen in Figures land 2, cross'shaft 50 is rotatably mounted .in suitably lubricated bearing sleeves '58. Mounted on each end :of cross shaft Eflby means of apertured plate 6!) are a pair of shovel arms .62 Bolts 64 pass through one end of arms 62 and plates to secure them for ready mounting and disassembly. Arms 62 ex tend beyond the width as well as beyond the forward end of the truck, as can plainly be seen in the figures, and, pivotally connect at 66 a shovel 68 at the forward end.

As is clearly shown in Figures 2 and 4, a suit able housing indicated generally at 10, is welded to shovel $8 and provides the automatic tripping means of the invention. A housing #2 includes expansion spring '14 which encloses a guide rod ltmounted at the lower end of a slide bar 18. slide bar 18 extends beyond housing 12 and terminates in an enlarged generally triangularly shaped head 8B which is forked at its mid-point 82. A rod 84 extends transversely between shovel arms 62 and is welded thereto. Fork 32 engages rod 84 for locking engagement therewith. A U- shaped operating control mechanism 86 includes a transverse pin 8! extending through rod 84, a pin 88 connected to an ear of control 86 and a rope 9t. Rope 8!] is pivotally connected to control 86 and is trained around a pulley 92 mounted on plate 60 and extends across the bottom of cab M to a point adjacent the operator for actuation (not shown).

Thus, it becomes quite simple to empty the shovel, and the operator merely pulls the rope 90 to release the latching means. An actuating bar 94 is mounted on bar l8 and stops forward or backward movement at head by engaging either lip 96 or 98, respectively, on housing 72. Control mechanism 36 is also adjustable to equalize release on the shovel and thus prevent one side from releasing before the iother. This is accompllshed by means of ear I00 pivotally engaging mechanism 86 at one end and transverse pin 81 at the other extreme to move arcuate pin I02 in unison with pin 88. Rod 84 is made up of two sections I04 and I06 fitting into a larger pipe or sleeve I08 and is held in position by means of pins H0, H2. It thus becomes a simple matter to quickly remove the arms and shovel when so desired, by merely removing pins IIO, II2. A

spring bumper I I4 is mounted on the side of body position. Seats I24 are arcuate or concave in shape and thus assist in keeping arms 62 parallel to each other in the event one or both tend to shift sideways. Mounted on rods I22 are sleeves I32 to removably retain, by means of pins I34, seats I24. Rods I26, on actuation move into housing I I8 through opening I36, and return shovel 68 to vertical position when th scoop isemptied. The shovel, when swung back over the truck with a full load, is thus limited in movement, as well as properly aligned at all times.

From the above description, the operation of the device is readily apparent. In operation, the truck I0 is moved forward under its power and snow, or other material on the ground, is gathered into scoop 68. When the latter is full, pump 28 will operate hydraulic cylinder 32 to raise shovel 68 into the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. In addition, to assist in pulling the shovel over its center of gravity, a spring I26 engages cross shaft 50 at I28 and is fixed to frame I8 at I30. When the shovel has been raised, it is brought to a stop by means of spring bumper II4, arms 62 seating in the arcuate portion I24. The operator then draws on rope 90 to release the latching means I0 and allows scoop 68 to trip over backwards to empty. The shovel is then returned to the ground by reverse actuation of the hydraulic control, and as the shovel nears the ground, it is automatically latched for reloading.

While the specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, it is to be understood that deviations may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having described the claimed as new is:

1. A loading device for a truck including a crankshaft journaled in a truck frame, a pair of side arms extending forward beyond the truck and secured to the end portions of the crankshaft, a shovel carried between said arms, and tension means on said shovel to releasably lock it on said arms, said tension means including a latch housing welded on said shovel, a spring mounted in said housing, a slidable stop bar connected to said spring at one end and a pin extending through said side arms and engaging said stop bar at its free end.

2. A loading device for a truck including a crankshaft journaled in a truck frame, a pair of side arms extending forward beyond the truck and secured to the end portions of the crankshaft, a shovel carried between said arms, ten sion means on said shovel to releasably lock it on said arms, and means to adjust said tension means to equalize the action of said shovel.

3. A loading device for a truck including a crankshaft journaled in a truck frame, a pair of side arms extending forward beyond the truck and secured to the end portions of the crankshaft, a shovel carried between said arms, and a pair of shock absorbing means mounted on each side 01 said truck to stop the movement of said shovel, each of said shock absorbing means including an expansion spring, a bumper rod mounted on said spring, and a saddle seat on the other end of said bumper rod, said seat including upwardly extending, outwardly tapering ears for seating of the shovel arms.

4. The combination of claim 3, wherein said invention, what is saddle seat is removably connected to said bumper rod.

PETER THOMAS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,256,401 Ward Feb. 12, 1918 1,320,970 Beaty Nov. 4, 1919 2,286,723 Frost June 16, 1942 2,341,945 Rabon Feb. 15, 1944 2,441,591 Owen May 18, 1943 2,457,039 Graves et a1. Dec. 21, 1943 

